They may do their business in Spanish or Italian or English. They may meet in bodegas, or social clubs or expense-account restaurants. But all criminal enterprises are alike, based on strict rules of silence, self-interest and hierarchy.

For years, the Chinese triad gangs have been both endemic -- one study suggested nearly 20 percent of Hong Kong citizens were somehow connected to one -- and taboo. At one point, merely showing their gang signs or rituals on screen was enough to earn a Cantonese film a "Category III" rating, the equivalent of an NC-17.

Ironically, the last 10 years of mainland rule has relaxed that restriction (even as it's tightened so many others). And Johnnie To's "Election" and "Triad Election" -- both being released here for the first time, the second still bearing its on-screen title of "Election 2" -- glory in the freedom.

Carefully, the movies detail how these crime gangs elect their godfathers to serve two-year terms. (Perhaps it's that mockery of democracy that appealed most to Beijing.) A fascinating, beautifully shot sequence is dedicated to the new boss' installation, as his loyal lieutenants invoke ancient legend and epic history.

But To -- who first caught movie fans' eyes in 1992 with the delirious "The Heroic Trio" -- isn't really interested in an anthropology lesson.

There is social commentary to be sure (his last film to reach us, "Breaking News," showed how cops, criminals and the media can exist in an ugly triangle of their own). But there are also some solid action thrills.

The films, which work independently of each other, gain extra resonance seen together. In the first, Simon Yam, a blandly efficient gangster, wants to be the new chairman; Tony Leung Kai-Fai, an unpredictable hothead, will do anything to win the job instead. But Kai-Fai doesn't realize how deep Yam's ambition runs, and the film builds to a surprising series of double-crosses.

In the second film, the other bosses want the slick young Louis Koo to take over when Yam's term ends. But Yam wants an unprecedented second term as Godfather. And Koo -- so close to his dream of becoming a legitimate businessman, and creating new opportunities for his children -- only wants to quit.

The parallels to all three "Godfather" films are there, if you care to look -- there's even a pathetic Fredo character who meets a watery end -- but the "Election" films have other pleasures.

Some of those come from watching these veteran Hong Kong actors go through their paces (Kai-Fai is particularly good as the loose-cannon gangster). Others come from the films' excellent scores by Lo Tayu and Robert Ellis-Geiger, and To's striking compositional sense -- the steep spiral of a staircase that accompanies one character's final descent into hell, a cubist arrangement of cramped cells and barking German shepherds that allude, uncomfortably, to America's prisons in Iraq.

Sometimes the two movies seem to be pandering a bit to the exploitation audience (as in a bit of gruesome sausage-making, in "Triad Election") and sometimes the twists of their own plots even seem to lose To (who fails to make it clear, during long stretches of "Election," exactly who's doing what to whom). But taken together, they're a slap-in-the-face reminder of just how cunning and sociopathic and unpredictable gangsters are.

And how little it matters whether they're discussing their crimes over a bowl of linguine in Little Italy, some chow fun in Hong Kong -- or a slab of perfectly charred rib-eye in the executive dining room.

Rating note: The films contain gory violence, and a brief scene of sensuality.
Stephen Whitty may be reached at swhitty@starledger.com or (212) 790-4435.